Recent world events, such as the terrorist Sarin attack in Tokyo, the Federal building bombing in Oklahoma City, the bombing at the Olympics in Atlanta, attempts by paramilitary and terrorist organizations to disrupt national infrastructure, increased international and domestic drug production and trafficking, and accidental chemical spills, to name a few, have created heightened interest in training personnel to identify and appropriately handle hazardous and highly toxic materials. Instructive in this respect is a Nov. 4, 1996 article by Lois R. Ember in Chemical and Engineering News, pages 10-16. One of the areas identified in the article is the need for training especially for local responders such as police and fire departments. The need for training in identifying hazardous and highly toxic materials also exists in the private sector such as with producers in the chemical industry, with distributors in the transportation industry, and with end users.
Misconceptions exist as to the look, feel, smell, and other properties of hazardous materials. The very toxicity, danger, liability issues, and tight control associated with hazardous materials makes it difficult For personnel having a need to know about the materials to obtain access to the materials in a meaningful way. The present invention is designed to help fulfill these needs.